Devon County Council is one of 15 South West local authorities joining a charity’s campaign to improve health, support the local food economy, and protect the environment.

Devon has signed up to Sustain’s Good Food Local benchmarking tool to help drive change in sustainable food and build healthier communities. The initial findings from Sustain’s first benchmarking of local authorities in the region have found that Devon County Council demonstrates “excellent support for initiatives to reduce, reuse, and recycle food waste”.

The authority is working across a number of areas to support local food production and help local people improve their health.

Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, said: “Farming plays a vital role in our local economy and in supporting our rural communities. Increasing the amount of food that is locally grown and produced contributes to a thriving economy and a more resilient food system. I’m pleased we’re part of Sustain’s Good Food Local benchmarking, and it’s encouraging that some of our work has already been recognised. However, there’s more we need to do.”

Devon also made history by being the first two-tier authority in the country to implement auto-enrolment of free school meals and supports food and drink businesses to become more sustainable through the People Planet Profit event series. Its Train4Tomorrow skills bootcamps fund skills development in regenerative agriculture and sustainable hospitality.

County Farms, owned by the County Council, have provided tenancies for over 50 new entrant farmers in the past five years. The authority also hosts Devon Agri-Tech Alliance & South West AgriTech, which have delivered over 30 knowledge exchange events and ongoing support for local farmers.

Each year, Devon’s Farmwise project helps 13,000 children and 300 teachers understand the relationship between food and farming by offering educational activities and resources.